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Badfinger: Wish You Were Here CD Track Listing

Badfinger
Wish You Were Here (1974)
Originally Released November 1974\nCD Edition Released ????\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Wish You Were Here is a glistening, powerful rock record that stays true to power pop while sounding as contemporary as any mainstream rock band of the mid-'70s. It was the kind of record that could have been a hit, but due to a series of legal and managerial entanglements, it was pulled from stores before it had a chance to find its audience. Despite its relative obscurity, most die-hard Badfinger fans maintain that the group shines brilliantly on Wish You Were Here and they're correct. For one, it's easily the most cohesive album the group ever recorded -- a nice by-product of working with one talented producer (in this case, Chris Thomas) for an entire album instead of piecing a record together. Also, the showcases each band member at a peak of songwriting. As the band's most prolific and gifted composer, Ham naturally has the strongest presence, and while each of his songs stands as proof that he was a consummate pop craftsman -- particularly the elegant "Dennis," the hard-hitting "Just a Chance," and the Abbey Road-esque "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch." Joey Molland has a strong showing with the stately ballad "Love Time" and "Should I Smoke," his complement to "Ranch." What is surprising is that Mike Gibbins' two contributions are of the same caliber, as is Tom Evans' electric-piano laden "King of the Load," since they were in a bit of a slump prior to this album. Thomas ties the record together with a clean, professional production that keeps the rockers energetic without losing their melodic edge, while preventing the sentimental numbers from seeming syrupy. All of this results in a classy, catchy pop record, possibly the best Badfinger ever released. It could have been a hit, too, but we'll never know. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Product Description\nBadfinger's 1974 studio album & second for Warner Brothers after their highly successful spell on the Apple label. Features nine tracks, including 'Got To Get Out Of Here', 'Know One Knows' and 'In The Meantime Some Other Time'. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Classic Stomped to Death by Stinking Management and A Label, October 8, 2005\nReviewer: Alan Rockman (Upland, California)\nthat chose to sue the band rather than understand what Pete, Joey, Tom and Mike were going through. The shame of it all is while rock was going into that transitory phase from British Rock and Roll and California Country Rock to Disco, Punk and whatever Springsteen calls his music??? Badfinger in 1974 had recorded an album that not only sounded like "Abbey Road" or even elements of the Beatles' "White Album", but evoke that same magical lyrical imagery so prevalent in the latter Lennon-McCartney era. \n\nPeter Ham, disillusioned and broke, would take his life less than a year after recording this album, but some of his finest songs - maybe not hit tunes like "Day After Day", "No Matter What" or "Baby Blue" - were recorded here. Songs like "Just A Chance", "In the Meantime", and "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch". Tommy Evans contributed the cute and very Lennonsque "King of the Load" with a sweeping guitar solo (Ham? or Molland) that rivals George Harrison's best Beatle solos. Mike Gibbins stepped from behind the drums to sing "You're So Fine" with the three main singer Badfinger boys. The epic, chugging, masterpiece "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch-"Shall I Smoke" with an opening lead vocal by Ham and ending vocal by Joey Molland and with dual lead guitars by Ham and Molland is a breathtaking finish to a wonderous work. A work that sadly enough ended up in the bargain bins - and left the band in desperate debt because a label chose to punish an act over the misdeeds of its mismanagement. \n\nJoey Molland once told me that yep, "Gotta Get Out of Here" was a blunt reference to what the band was experiencing due to lousy management and a label that really didn't care. A band that came directly out of being the Beatles' proteges, being outstanding musicians and composers in their own right and keeping the tradition of the Fab Four did not deserve such a terrible fate. Both Ham and Evans died needless, tragic, early deaths that shouldn't have been, and Molland deserves much more acclaim - at least Badfinger has been acknowledged as a major influence by bands like Cheap Trick, the Records, the Bangles and others.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nOnly poor management kept this from being a huge success, March 4, 2004\nReviewer: William J. Eichelberger "Semroc Dude!" (Ft. Thomas, KY)\nThe two albums that Badfinger recorded for Warner Brothers after leaving Apple were among the easiest to find in the days before cd's. They could usually be found languishing in used bins for relatively low prices, and it was this that initially threw me off. Finally, faced with the prospect of little known Badfinger over no Badfinger at all, I went ahead and purchased both albums. Imagine my surprise when I got home and found that both albums were loaded with songs on par with, and at times better than, the songs that the band did while with Apple. The whole album is strong, with leadoff shouldabeenahit "Just A Chance" Pete Ham is in fine voice, and one is left to wonder what could have been. "Know One Knows" and "Dennis" are equally strong, but it's the rather odd cut and paste songs "In The Meantime/Some Other Time" and "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke" that show the band's true brilliance. Within months Pete Ham would be dead and with his passing rock and roll lost one of the truly great songwriters as well as a hugely underrated guitarist. This album demands and deserves a listen and it's a risk you won't regret.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAn Overlooked Gem, February 24, 2004\nReviewer: Don Nichols (Broomfield, CO)\nI've picked up all of Badfinger's album and this one is the best. My favorite tracks include Got To Get Out of Here, Dennis, In the Meantime, and Meanwhile Back at the Ranch. The Production is fantastic - Big thanks to Chris Thomas - and the band is tight! The guitar ending to Meanwhile Back is thrilling. The songwriting of the group throughout the album stands head and shoulders above any of the other albums. Any potential hit singles to go along with Day After Day or No Matter What? No, but there's not a weak song in the whole album. It flows perfectly, pulling you along with its sound, craftsmanship, and melody. What a crime it was for Warner Brothers to pull it after only 3 weeks! A definite overlooked gem.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nOverlooked Classic Album, February 6, 2004\nReviewer: Morten Vindberg\nBadfinger's second album for Warner Brothers was recording during two sessions - the first took place at The Caribou Ranch, Colorado in April/May 1974; the second at AIR studios, London in June. Though financial worries had begun to have great influence on the 4 members; they all felt that they had to put everything they had into these recordings. And this really shows on the album - another masterpiece - one of the really great albums of the seventies. It has been called "The Sergent Pepper of the 1970's"; personally I feel that it has more in common with "Abbey Road".\nBadfinger had grown into an albums-band, and this album really works as a whole, especially the original side 2 which features two very succesful medleys. The album opens with Pete's very powerful Just A Chance and with Mike's light and catchy You're So Fine song by Joey and Pete - once again Mike proves himself as a competent songwriter. Know One Knows is another powerful melodic rocker by Pete - I love the Japanese voice that meddles with leadguitar part. The first side closes with another grand production which characterizes most of the album; Pete's Dennis written to his step-son. Besides the two medleys side two features Tom Evans' King Of The Load ( one of my favourite Tom Evans songs) and Joey's quiet Love Time. No singles were released from the album; this was a period when hit-singles didn't matter much to the progressive/ambitious bands. Just a Chance or Know One Knows might have been able to make the charts with the right promotion, though none of them have obvious hit-potentials.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nwish you were here, January 24, 2003\nReviewer: dan (usa)\nBadfinger are perhaps best remembered (when remembered at all) for their Apple release Straight Up, with its stately though ultimately timid retread of late BEATLES territory. Their subsequent releases for Warner Brothers never received the attention they deserved, yet is was here, at Warner, that BADFINGER finally emerged as legitimate heirs to the Fab Four's throne, rather than shirk as obvious pretenders.\nTheir Apple years brought BADFINGER a few mild brushes with fame. Their three core albums (Magic Christian Music, No Dice, and Straight Up) produced a stateside hit each. The McCARTNEY-penned "Come and Get It," from Magic Christian Music, is a note-for-note cover of the unreleased BEATLES original, bringing nothing new to the song ("Carry On Til Tomorrow," a hit in Asia, would have been a far finer introduction to the band). No Dice's "No Matter What" was a straight-ahead and unspectacular pop-rocker. The classic GEORGE HARRISON-produced "Day After Day," from Straight Up, finally brought melody to the fore. As their later work would reveal, melody was surely BADFINGER's strongest suit. (The band's final Apple release, Ass, is an easily-forgotten pastiche.) Their self-titled 1974 Warner debut was surely flawed, but nonetheless possessed some truly gorgeous pop songs, "Lonely You" being the obvious standout. But it was on their second Warner release, that same year's Wish You Were Here, when BADFINGER finally hit their stride, truly picking up where Abbey Road left off.\nJust like the Abbey Road medley, Wish You Were Here overloads the listener with energy, melody, intricate harmonies, and screaming electric guitars fighting it out with strings and brass. The album begins with a jolt. In "Just a Chance" electric guitars leap from the speakers, chugging along with Pete Ham's impassioned vocal. It becomes immediately clear that Ham had now unleashed the true depths of his vocal abilities, as he effortlessly wraps his vocal cords around the soaring melody. His new-found vocal prowess is perhaps most fully displayed on Side One's final cut, "Dennis," a sort of JEFF LYNNE-meets-JOHN LENNON explosion of melody, which amalgamates no fewer than three distinct concepts into one overwhelming package. Side One also features Joey Molland's "Got to Get Out of Here," a harrowing tale of alienation with a sustained church organ drone, that suffers only in comparison to the previous album's "Give it Up," on which the former is too obviously based.\nThe pace hardly slackens on Side Two, opening as it does with the Mike Gibbins/Joey Molland medley "In the Meantime/Some Other Time." Again, melody and energy combine in an overwhelming assault. After the GILBERT O'SULLIVAN and PAUL McCARTNEY soundalikes (respectively) of Joey's "Love Time" and Tommy Evans' "King of the Load (T)," the album moves into medley territory once again: Pete and Joey's "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Should I Smoke" end the album with a climax every bit as dramatic as Abbey Road's "The End".\nChris Thomas is credited with album production, but surely, George Martin deserves special mention for inspiring the sonic treatment. Crystal clear electric guitars, Ann Odell's characteristically richly textured string arrangements, Average White's punchy brass, and inventive choral backing lay the rock-solid foundation for the vibrant, live-in-the-studio-sounding lead vocal. The album's aural constancy and short playing time (about thirty-six minutes) combine to make it one of the few LPs which actually improves upon translation to the CD format. Just like Abbey Road's Side Two, the few between-song breaks seem merely a bow to convention. Wish You Were Here, like few rock albums before or since, is truly of a piece.\nThe album was pulled out the shops only a month after its release, due to a legal dispute. It has languished unreleased in the states since that time. Within the year, Pete Ham was dead by his own hand. In 1983, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts to get the band going again, Tommy Evans also committed suicide. While the lion's share of tracks is in fact available on Rhino's Best of Badfinger, volume II--an excellent introduction to the band's Warner period--the CD version of the record, released only overseas, is the only way the songs achieve their full impact.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThis cd needs to be part of your collection....., September 23, 2001\nReviewer: S. N. Lawrenson (Susquehanna, PA United States)\nThis is the Abbey Road of the post-Beatles power pop genre....and that's the last of my Beatles references to Badfinger, something that's dogged them forever. This cd is an out and out masterpiece from beginning to end and was such a hard find on cd for a while. It was equally difficult to find on vinyl upon it's release, myself actually having a radio promo reject. Legend has it that Warner Bros. pulled it off the shelf after some money discrepencies with Badfingers management. That chain of events was utterly tragic....as the rest of the Badfinger legacy - but back to this album. The cd opens with Pete Ham's "Just A Chance". An obvious plea to anyone in the music industry.....and anyone with half a brain should have given Badfinger that chance. All members contributed tunes and all of them some of their strongest. Just listen to Mike Gibbin's "Your So Fine" or Pete Ham's "Dennis". Although most people are familiar with their Apple albums, most notably Straight Up and No Dice, this is their crowning achievement and should have propelled them to superstardom....but it was not to be. Those of you (possibly) reading this and wondering about buying it, I say give it a chance.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nminus 1 star for disappointing sound, February 5, 2001\nReviewer: "gordon@ruraltel.net" (Oakley, KS USA)\nMake no mistake, this is a fine album; it captures well the emotional intensity that was burning in this band at the time. Along with Straight Up, it stands as Badfinger's finest hour.\nThis import, the only way it is available on CD, is very poorly remastered. Possibly they did not have the 1st generation master tapes, but the sound is very thin. Rhino, who also did not have the 1st generation masters, did a much better job on the remaster of this material that is included on their Best of Vol. 2. \n\nWish You Were Here is certainly a lost classic of the mid-70s, which was a dire period for pop music. Warner Brothers should certainly give this album its due, with a deluxe domestic release and a 24-bit remaster from the 1st generation masters (or, even better, how about a much-needed remix from the original multitracks?).\n\nMuch less worthy material has received much more attention. So, how about it, Warner Brothers?\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe best overlooked album of the 70's, August 31, 1998\nReviewer: Steven Montgomery (South Bend, IN USA)\nMany people figured that when Badfinger went out from under the wing of Apple records in 1973 that they would wilt without the guiding hands of the Beatles behind them. This album proves once and for all that Badfinger were truly a great band in their own right. Recorded under immense pressure from Warner Brothers to produce a sure-fire hit album, Badfinger came up with their finest album, and probably the best album of the 70's nobody's ever heard. From the initial guitar blast of "Just a Chance" to the final coda of "Should I Smoke" Badfinger hits nothing but bullseyes. The desperation and tension between the band and their label to be patient with them comes through in the hook-laden lead-off track "Just A Chance". Guitarist Joey Molland's frustration boils over in "Got To Get Out Of Here", forshadowing his departure from the band soon after the release. "In The Meantime/Some Other Time" rivals vintage Yes with its intricate time signatures and sudden tempo changes. I really hate to use the Beatles reference with Badfinger, because it's unfair to compare them, but the album has the grandness and yet utter finality that Abbey Road has. It's as if the band knew it may be their last chance, and threw every ounce of effort into the songwriting and playing. This album would have made them superstars in the U.S. for sure; unfortunately poor management derailed them, as a dispute with Warner Brothers caused by their manager forced Warners to pull the album from the shelves. Molland quit in disgust shortly after, and Pete Ham comitted suicide the next year, effectively ending Badfinger as a band. What happened to Badfinger is one of the great tragedies of rock and roll. Don't pass this one up and deprive yourself of a great band at the top of their game.\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nEven though Badfinger's 1972 album STRAIGHT UP remains their most celebrated work, WISH YOU WERE HERE--the final Badfinger album before the 1975 suicide of group leader Pete Ham--is arguably their finest moment. Produced by Chris Thomas, WISH YOU WERE HERE is a melodic tour-de-force that easily holds its own against such seventies milestones as Paul McCartney's BAND ON THE RUN and Fleetwood Mac's RUMORS.\nFeaturing a dynamic set of songs that range from the rousing power pop of "Just A Chance" to epic, upbeat ballads like "Dennis" and the delicate love song "Love Time," WISH YOU WERE HERE is Badfinger's most consistent and rewarding album. There's not a single wasted note and the several long medleys--"In The Meantime/Some Other Time" and "Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke"--show that Badfinger had perfected their distinctive brand of tuneful, adventurous rock that recalls the ABBEY ROAD-era Beatles at their best.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n3 stars out of 5 - ...great songs aplenty and Badfinger were convinced that this album was their most cohesive yet. They were right. If it's half an hour of Beatles-soaked pop that you're after then this is just perfect.\nQ (04/01/2000)\n\n...A band turning stress and misery into pop genius....captures the same quality of '70s melancholic ecstasy as Alan Price's O LUCKY MAN or the theme from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LUCKY LADS...\nMojo (04/01/2000)\n\n3 stars out of 5 - ...great songs aplenty and Badfinger were convinced that this album was their most cohesive yet. They were right. If it's half an hour of Beatles-soaked pop that you're after then this is just perfect.Mojo (4/00, p.116) - ...A band turning stress and misery into pop genius....captures the same quality of '70s melancholic ecstasy as Alan Price's O LUCKY MAN or the theme from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LUCKY LADS...\nQ (04/01/2000)
This rock cd contains 9 tracks and runs 36min 4sec.
Freedb: 7f087209Buy: from Amazon.com